Vitaminized air freshner and room deodorizer

ABSTRACT

Vitaminized air fresheners and room deodorizers are disclosed which permit occupants to directly receive and enjoy the benefits of vitamins with little or no effort intra-nasally. A method for the continuous release of a vitamin containing composition for the delivery of discrete droplets intra nasally absorbed vitamins such as, but not limited to A, C, and D is also disclosed.

RELATION TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No.08/629,407 filed Apr. 8, 1996, now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application pertains to room deodorizers and air fresheners whichserve as a carrier for the delivery of vitamins to the occupants of aroom.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cooking foods such as cabbage, the presence of cats and dogs, cigarsmoke, burnt toast among other things are all sources of offendingolfactory sensations. To alleviate these odors room deodorizers and airfresheners were invented. The first one were liquids that were deliveredthrough wicking action from a reservoir, Airwick™ was an early productof such category.

The next product to come along which still exists in the marketplace arethe propellant-based air fresheners and room deodorizers. Previouslythey used fluorocarbons as the propellent, but more recently isobutanehas become the propellant of choice.

The difference between a room deodorizer and an air freshener is that anair freshener only marks the odor that is present, while a deodorant"eats" or destroys the odor present by a believed chemical reaction.

The benefits of vitamins and minerals in tableted form as foodsupplements are quite well documented. Indeed many people in the U.S.A.and elsewhere take vitamin C tablets to ward off colds. Others takevitamin E to retard the signs of aging and to hasten the healing of cutsand wounds.

It is also well known that the delivery of tabletized and pelletizedvitamins to the body is slow due to the need for these to be chewed upand digested prior to the delivery of their precious benefits to thehuman body.

Vitamin therapy is one of the fastest growing areas of healthmaintenance. Today antioxidants is a big buzz word and vitamin C isindeed such a compound. Thus, it is seen to be beneficial to takevitamin C, as was first popularized by Dr. Linus Pauling.

There are many factors that determine the amount of benefit one canreceive from the ingestion of vitamin C. Each individual reactsdifferently. The dissolving rate in the body and the amount of thevitamin actually absorbed by every person is different when consideredalone. Add to the equation the presence of various types and quantitiesof food in the stomach and the intestine, and again the absorbency ratecan be and is affected. Also some people suffer diarrhea or stomachirritation from the vitamins in pill format.

Recent research has shown that intra nasal delivery systems may besuperior to oral delivery of vitamins such as A, C and E. The cellsystems of the nasal cavity have been found to absorb certain vitaminsrapidly and efficiently. One thereby avoids degradation of the vitaminby stomach acid, and the inhibition of delivery the benefits due to thepresence of food in stomach or intestine.

Vitamins and other medicaments that are delivered indirectly such as bybeing forced to exude from a film forming material such as theaminopolysaccharides and their derivatives as disclosed and claimed inPartain et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,870 while perhaps delivering theintended medicament, do so ever more slowly than can be accomplishedusing the procedure of this invention. In the Partian procedure themedicament is introduced into the body topically indirectly, in that themedicine must be laid down in the film carrier and then absorbed.Whereas in this invention, the discrete droplets of the aerosol spray,or the droplets from the dissemination from a pad, from the air blowingover the pad produce discrete tiny droplets that are easily ingestedduring breathing. Such an introduction is preferable. Granted thatPartain can use an aerosol for delivery, but the object is to form afilm first and then to ingest from the film, whereas in the Mettlerprocedure, the injestion is direct without any dwell time within a filmcarrier.

Of course, the intent of Partain is totally different from the intent ofMettler. Partain seeks to medicate an individual with a medicinedirected to that person's attention. But for Mettler who has been activein the room deodorizer business for many years, witness his severalUnited States patents in that field of endeavor, the intent is toprovide an improved room deodorizer than benefits anyone and everyonewho enters the room, by permitting those people to gain the benefits ofpropellant delivered vitamins present in the mist or discrete dropletsof the air of a nicely smelling room.

At least one cold remedy; namely, Primatene Mist which containsbronchial dilator ingredients delivers ascorbic acid along with itsother ingredients in an attempt to aid the respiration of an ill person.But this device is not one for general delivery into the environment,i.e., a whole room.

Unfortunately most people do not want to carry around personal inhalersto shove up their nostrils to receive medicated vitamin C especiallywhen there is no difficulty in breathing. Also children don't know howto use these inhalers.

Thus there was found to be a need for a way to nasally deliver vitaminsto the nasal passages of the general populous without the need for aninhaler.

It is an object therefore of this invention to provide a breathablecomposition that contains vitamin C and/or vitamin E.

It is another object to provide a vitaminized composition that is low incost and easily delivered to the nasal passages in the format ofdiscrete droplets.

It is an additional object to provide a vitaminized composition that canbe used to mask and/or deodorize ambient air.

It is a further object to provide a vitaminized composition for directnasal delivery of vitamins C and E.

It is yet another object to provide a process for the regular andcontinuous delivery of vitamins C and/or E to the nose without the needfor a personal inhaler to fit up the nostril.

It is a still further object to provide a vitaminized room deodorizerthat can bring vitamins to the occupants of the room which has apleasing aroma.

It is a yet further object to provide a vitaminized air freshener thatcan bring vitamins to the occupants of a room through various modes ofdelivery.

It is one further object to provide a method for the continuous periodicdelivery of vitamins to the occupants of a room.

These and other objects of the invention will in part be obvious andwill in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the device possessing the featuresproperties and the relation of components which are exemplified in thefollowing detailed disclosure and the scope of the application of whichwill be indicated in the appended claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the inventionreference should be made to the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, if present.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A vitaminized air freshener and a vitaminized room deodorizer aredisclosed which permit occupants to receive and enjoy the benefits ofvitamins with little or no effort. Discrete droplets containing thevitamin(s) are delivered directly to the nasal passages for ingestion. Amethod for the continuous release of a vitamin containing composition isalso disclosed. Vitamins such as A, C and E can be delivered to the bodypainlessly and effortlessly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The compositions of this application are for both air fresheners whichmask odors and for room deodorizers which actually destroy odors, bothof which can deliver solubilized vitamins to occupants of a room.

Among the solublizable vitamins mention may be made of vitamin A, (betacarotene), vitamin C and vitamin E. These and other soluble vitamins canbe employed solely or in combinations.

As to the propellants suitable for my compositions, mention may be madeof the various fluorocarbons which now have been banned in somecountries, isobutane, nitrogen and other organic propellants availablein the marketplace.

Any fragrance oil such as wood, such as pine scent, orange, lemon orlime, other fruits such as peach, and flower derived fragrances may beemployed. Flower derived fragrances include those available in themarketplace from such vendors as Belle Aire Fragrances of Highland ParkIll. among others. These flower derived fragrances include but are notlimited to the ode de chrysanthemum, rose, jasmine, lavender, gardeniaand others. Various potpourri that are available as fragrance oils mayalso be employed.

Fragrance oils are employed within the range of 0.75% to 2.5% of theweight of the composition. Preferably about 1% of fragrance is employed.Fragrance bases are available from many sources in the marketplace.

While it is believed that any solubilizable vitamin may be employed,particularly good results have been obtained with vitamins A, C and Ebetween about 1 and about 12% by weight

Among the alcohols that can be utilized in these compositions, mentionmay be made of ethanol, propanol and isopropanol. Alcohols are employedwithin the range of 92 to 96 percent by weight of the total compositionto solubilize the vitamin(s) and the fragrance oil.

As noted earlier room deodorants include a glycol such as, but notlimited to, dipropylene glycol. Other suitable glycols includediethylene glycol, and triethylene glycol. The level of glycol withinthe formulation would range from five percent (5%) to about twentypercent (20%) by weight. Since the alcohol is the conventionalsolubilizing agent employed, the amount of alcohol is reduced by theamount of glycol added to the total composition.

GENERALIZED PREPARATION PROCEDURE

To a finite amount of alcohol is added any solid or powdered vitamin.The mixture is heated below boiling to dissolve the vitamin such asvitamin C using mild agitation during the heating process. First, themixture of alcohol and dissolved vitamin is permitted to cool to roomtemperature.

Then, the fragrance oil, in a second step is added as is any glycolshould the end product be a deodorizer under mild heat with agitation.After thorough blending the mixture is cooled to ambient temperature andis ready for filling in the spray can or other delivery device alongwith the propellant.

The filling and use of propellant based sprays is at this point in timedeemed conventional. Thus there need be no further discussion of howthese mixtures are utilized with propellants to become spraycompositions.

The following specific examples are typical of the air freshener androom deodorizer composition mixtures which contain one or more solublevitamins that can be prepared according to this invention. Theseexamples are exemplifications only and are not to be considered aslimiting.

EXAMPLE I

    ______________________________________    Ingredients   Wt. % of Composition    ______________________________________    Fragrance Oil 1%    Vitamin(s)    4%    Alcohol       95%                  100%    ______________________________________

EXAMPLE II

    ______________________________________    Ingredients     Wt. %        Weight    ______________________________________    Fragrance Oil - Jasmine                    2%           .030   oz.    Ascorbic Acid   1%           .015   oz    Vitamin E Oil   2%           .030   oz.    Alcohol         95%          1.125                    100%         1.500  oz.    ______________________________________

To this 1.5 ounces of formulation is added 5.6 ounces of a propellantknown in the trade as A70 to achieve a total net content of 7.1 ounces.

EXAMPLE III

    ______________________________________    Ingredients       Wt. %       Ounces    ______________________________________    Fragrance Oil - Summer Flowers                      1%          .015   oz.    Ascorbic Acid     2%          .020   oz.    Vitamin E Oil     2%          .030   oz.    Dipropylene Glycol                      10          .150   oz.    Propyl Alcohol    85          1.275  oz.                      100%        1.500  oz.    ______________________________________

EXAMPLE IV

    ______________________________________           Fragrance Oil - Pine                      1%           Beta Carotene                      2%           Isopropyl Alcohol                      97%                      100%    ______________________________________

EXAMPLE V

    ______________________________________    Fragrance Oil - Lemon                      1%    Ascorbic Acid     4%    Diethylene Glycol 22%    Ethanol           73%                      100%    ______________________________________

EXAMPLE VI

    ______________________________________    Fragrance Oil - Peach                      1%    Vitamin E         5%    Isopropyl Alcohol 94%                      100%    ______________________________________

EXAMPLE VII

    ______________________________________    Fragrance Oil - Lime                      2%    Ascorbic Acid     6%    Dipropylene Glycol                      20%    Propyl Alcohol    72%                      100%    ______________________________________

It is also to be understood that a room deodorizer formulation can beeasily modified to create a vitaminized medicated decongestant fordelivery to the occupant(s) of the room by the addition of one or moreof such ingredients as thymol, menthol, camphor and eucalyptus oil.

EXAMPLE IX

A typical formulation for a product would be:

    ______________________________________    Thymol                 0-2%    Menthol                0-6%    Camphor                0-6%    Eucalyptus oil         0-2%    Vitamin E              0-5%    Ascorbic Acid          0-5%    Dipropylene Glycol     10-25%    Ethanol                Balance                           100%    ______________________________________

EXAMPLE X

A more specific decongestant formulation would be:

    ______________________________________    Thymol           1.20%    Menthol          6.0%    Camphor          6.0%    Eucalyptus Oil   1.80%    Dipropylene Glycol                     22.00%    Ethanol Vanzol   59.00%    Ascorbic Acid    2.00%    Vitamin E Oil    2.00%    Total            100%    ______________________________________

One mode of delivery of these vitaminized mixtures to the nasal passageis by an automatic spray delivery system. Such a pressurized dispenserforms the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,941 issued Aug. 17, 1976to Leo Mettler. The text and claims of this Mettler patent is herebyincorporated by reference into this application. When so packaged themixtures are referred to as spray compositions.

This patented battery operated dispenser includes an electronic timercircuit such that it can deliver a timed dose of vitamin C, or E, or Aamong others alone or in combination into the atmosphere of the roomwhere the dispenser is situated. Thus, at any time interval between 5seconds and 30 minutes as may be user determined, a spray of thevitaminized compositions of this invention can be released into theenvironment. The ability to control the frequency of emission of aconstant quantity of the composition permits the user to compensate forthe size of the room, the airflow, and the number of occupants as may bedesired.

The dose of the vitamin(s) absorbed by the body intra-nasally from themist in the room depends upon (1) the vitamin concentration in theformulation, and (2) the volume of actual solution (versus propellant)that is delivered each time this applicator (or any application) isactuated. Studies have shown that the body intake and utilization issignificantly higher nasally than orally due to the lack of interferenceby stomach acid and the time necessary to get into the system.

It is seen that an air freshener and a room deodorizer are similar to aroom spray decongestant formulation, if one considers such compositionsto be the carrier for the vitamin being delivered. The fragrant mist canbe a pleasurable way to provide the user with a daily intake ofsupplement vitamins. If the carrier composition is a decongestant, thenthe added benefits of the thymol, and eucalyptus oil in addition to thevitamin benefits can be obtained.

Such an automated delivery system permits the parties present to work orplay unimpeded in a vitaminized environment without the need for specialinhaler equipment the latter of which can be extremely motion limiting.

Other modes of delivery of the vitaminized composition is by a normallyactuated spray cans. Spray cans are available in the marketplace frommany companies and the filling of same is a service also available inthe marketplace.

A second mode of delivery is to load these vitaminized mixturescompressed fiber pads through which air can be forced via a fan blowingair on the pad. Such an apparatus is disclosed and claimed in theMettler patent 4,301,095 issued Nov. 17, 1981.

For delivery to room occupants the mixtures must be modified for severalreasons. In the format of a pad exposed to the environment an alcoholsolution would evaporate quite quickly. Therefore, the alcohol contentneeds to be reduced and is in part replaced by additional fragrance oiland volatilization inhibitor.

Thus a typical formulation for pad delivery would be:

    ______________________________________    Example XI        %      Wt/Pad    ______________________________________    Fragrance Oil     60%    4.80      gms    IGEPAL ® CA 630                      32%    2.56      gms    Ascorbic Acid     0-4%   .16    Vitamin E         4-0%   .16    Alcohol           4%     .32                      100%   8.00      gms    ______________________________________

IGEPAL® is a trademark of GAF Corp for a series of biodegradablenon-ionic surfactants used as detergents, dispersants, emulsifiers andwetting agents and is used here to prevent volatilization.

It is to be noted that the IGEPAL® can be replaced by an equal amount ofHercolyn D which a hydrogenated methyl ester of rosin. It is used as aplasticizer.

The ingredients are mixed and heated together until the vitamin(s)solubilize.

The mix is allowed to cool to room temperature and applied to the padsby conventional machinery. The pads are packaged to retain the contentsuntil ready for placement in a machine such as the one claimed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,301,095 issued to Leo Mettler.

It is to be further noted that the amount of alcohol in the mixture forpads can vary between 3 and 10%.

It is seen that I have provided mixtures that can be readily absorbedinto the body for delivery of the vitamins therein intra-nasally throughtheir delivery in any of an air freshener, room deodorizer or adecongestant-inhaler, as a spray into the room, or by forced airdelivery into the room.

Thus it is seen that the timed spray delivery of a vitaminizeddecongestant during sleep periods, will both relieve symptoms of colds,hay fever and sinusitis, while eliminating the use of a water vaporizerswhich tend to increase the level of dampness of a room, which couldcause mildew, a new irritant to the occupant.

Previously it has ben mentioned that the compositions of this inventionare intended for delivery of vitamins to the occupants of a roomdirectly intra nasally. These compositions can be introduced in the formof an aerosol which will create discrete droplets in a mist of a roomdeodorizer as is conventionally known and the compositions can beintroduced to the occupants by having the compositions impregnated ontoa compressed fiber pad, over which flows compressed air or another inertgas to introduce the composition into the room and thus directly to thenasal passages of the occupants of the room. Such a device is disclosedand claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,941 entitled Automated AerosolMist Dispenser.

In order to further demonstrate that the compositions disclosed andclaimed herein, be they introduced from a spray container or mistdispenser do not form a film on room furnishings, the following testswere carried out:

1. A 1.5 ounce net sample of the formulation of Example I of the pendingapplication was put into an aerosol can along with 5.6 ounces of apropellant, using conventional technology and I sprayed an amount thatcomes out with two finger presses of the atomizer valve, at a distanceof about 2 feet onto the black surface of a home video recorder andallowed the spray to dry. No visual appearance of droplets and noresidual was seen on the black surface. A clean white facial tissue waswiped over the area that received the spray, and then observed. No filmor other deposit was found to be visible on the facial tissue.

2. The test described above was repeated using the formulation ofExample I of the pending patent application 1.5 ounces and 5.6 ounces ofthe propellant onto a white household flat paper surface. Again novisible film or deposit was visible to the naked eye on either the whitesurface or the white facial tissue.

3. Using an automatic periodic dispenser to release the product at 15minute intervals, with the spray nozzle of the dispenser locatedapproximately 15 inches above the table top and released a spray lengthof approximately 3 feet long horizontal to the table surface for aperiod of 24 hours for a total of 96 spray releases. No residual of anytype was found on the furniture surfaces after visual inspection.

Since certain changes may be made in the above described compositionswithout departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it isintended that all matter contained in the above description shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:
 1. A vitamin containing room deodorizer spray non-film formingfluid composition for changing the smell within the confines of a roomand for intra-nasal delivery of droplets of soluble vitamins whichconsists essentially of by weight a mixture of:(a) fragrance oil--about0.75% to about 2.5% (b) at least one soluble vitamin--about 1% to about12% (c) alcohol--the balance in weight percent to equal 100%with (d)about 5.6 ounces of propellant for each 1.5 ounces of the mixture topermit the mixture to be used as a spray (e) about 0-6% of any oneadditive.
 2. The vitamin containing fluid composition of claim 1 whereinthe mixture consists of:(a) jasmine fragrance--about 2% (b) a solublevitamin mixture of vitamin E and ascorbic acid--about 3% (c) and 95%alcohol, by weight.
 3. The vitamin containing fluid composition of claim1 wherein the mixture consists of:(a) a fragrance oil--about 1%; (b) asoluble vitamin mixture of the combination of, vitamin E and ascorbicacid, about 4%; and (c) about 95 percent alcohol by weight.
 4. Thevitamin containing fluid composition of claim 1 wherein the fragranceoil forming part of the mixture is selected from the group consisting ofpine; a fruit based fragrance selected from among orange, lemon, peach,and lime; and a flower derived fragrance.
 5. The vitamin containingcomposition of claim 1 wherein between about 10% and about 25% of thealcohol is replaced by a lower alkylene glycol.
 6. The vitamincontaining composition of claim 5 wherein the lower alkylene glycol isselected from the group consisting of diethylene glycol, dipropyleneglycol and triethylene glycol.
 7. The vitamin containing composition ofclaim 1 including up to 20% of the weight of the mixture any and all ofthe additives of thymol, menthol, camphor, and eucalyptus oil.
 8. Thevitamin containing composition of claim 7 wherein the additives arepresent as part of the total weight of the mixture as follows:Thymol0-2% Menthol 0-6% Camphor 0-6% Eucalyptus 0-2% Oil.
 9. The vitamincontaining fluid composition of claim 8 wherein the additives arepresent as part of the total weight of the mixture as follows:thymolabout 1%, menthol and camphor each about 6%, and eucalyptus oil about2%.
 10. A vitamin containing non-film forming fluid composition forchanging the smell within the confines of a room and for intra-nasaldelivery of droplets of soluble vitamins which consists by weight of amixture of:(a) fragrance oil--about 0.75% to about 2.5% (b) at least onesoluble vitamin--about 1% to about 12% (c) alcohol--the balance inweight percent to equal 100% disposed on a compressed fiber pad throughwhich air can be forced.
 11. A vitamin containing non-film formingmixture for changing the smell within the confines of a room and fordirect intra-nasal delivery of soluble vitamins which comprises byweight a mixture of:(a) fragrance oil--about 0.75% to about 2.5% (b) atleast one soluble vitamin--about 1% to about 12%, and (c) alcohol--thebalance in weight percent to equal 100%.